Images Dated 8th September 2003

English 18th century engraving of alcoholism

Alcoholism. English engraving from the 1750sof the problems caused by addiction to gin, adistilled alcoholic drink. At lower centre a womandrops her baby. A dying man sits with a cup, whilst in the background a dead drinker is beingput into a coffin. People are fighting to buy ginfrom a distillery, whilst other people give theirgoods to a pawnbroker in return for money to buymore drink. A man has hung himself in a buildingwhich has become structurally unsafe because itsowners are too drunk to repair it. Image titled"Gin Lane" drawn by British artist William Hogarth(1697-1764)

© National Library Of Medicine/Science Photo Library

Mating pharaoh cuttlefish

Pharaoh cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis) mating. The male at centre is protecting the egg-laying female (below) from a rival male (above). The dark stripes and raised arms are threat displays. Like all cuttlefish, it can rapidly change the colour and texture of its skin. It uses this for camouflage and communication. During mating, the male places a spermatophore, a sac containing sperm, in a pouch by the female's mouth. The spermatophore then bursts, releasing sperm into the female's mantle cavity, where it fertilises the eggs. The eggs are then laid individually, being fixed to hard surfaces. Photographed in the Andaman Sea, Thailand

© GEORGETTE DOUWMA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Aerial photo of San Andreas fault

Aerial photograph of the San Andreas fault as it crosses the Carrizo Plain some 450km (300 miles) south of San Francisco & 160km (100 miles) north of Los Angeles. One of the world's great seismic faults, the San Andreas extends almost the full length of California & is responsible for major earthquakes. It is seen here as the narrow, valley-like scar running from bottom left to top centre of the picture. The desolate landscape consists of pressure ridges formed as a result of hundreds of fault movements. The Carrizo Plain is at right, the elevated Elkhorn Scarp at left. This is the place where the San Andreas fault is at its most spectacular

© DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY